The Okun Misery Index in the European Union Countries from 2000 to 2009

The study is composed of four main parts and a summary. The first part, introduction, discusses various measures of the economic system's efficiency that are used in practice. Part two emphasises that the GDP per capita according to purchasing power parity still remains the most popular among those measures. Further, it presents the ranking of the European Union countries taking that measure into account, the research period being 1999-2009. Part three points out that it is also the level of poverty (misery) that determines the economic system's efficiency. That level can be measured by means of various indicators, among others, the so called HPI-2 index calculated by the UN. It will be the Okun misery index, however, computed as the sum of inflation and unemployment rates that will be presented as an alternative being of interest from the macroeconomic point of view. The ranking of the European Union member states according to that measure in the 2000-2004 and 2005-2009 periods will be provided in part four. The article will end in a summary containing synthetic conclusions drawn from earlier observations.Opracowanie składa się z czterech części zasadniczych i podsumowania. W punkcie pierwszym omówiono różnorodne mierniki sprawności systemu gospodarczego wykorzystywane w praktyce. W części drugiej podkreślono, iż nadal najpopularniejszym z nich jest PKB per capita według parytetu siły nabywczej. Zgodnie z tym miernikiem przedstawiono ranking państw Unii Europejskiej w latach 1999-2009. W punkcie trzecim podkreślono, że o sprawności systemu gospodarczego decyduje także poziom ubóstwa. Może być on mierzony różnymi wskaźnikami, m.in. tzw. indeksem HPI-2 obliczanym przez ONZ. Jako ciekawą z makroekonomicznego punktu widzenia alternatywę ukazano jednak miarę wskaźnika ubóstwa Okuna obliczanego poprzez zsumowanie stopy inflacji i stopy bezrobocia. Ranking państw Unii Europejskiej według tej miary w okresach 2000-2004 oraz 2005-2009 zaprezentowano w części czwartej. Całość zamknięto podsumowaniem, w którym zawarto syntetyczne wnioski z przeprowadzonych obserwacji

A study of high-altitude manned research aircraft employing strut-braced wings of high-aspect-ratio

The effect of increased wing aspect ratio of subsonic aircraft on configurations with and without strut bracing. Results indicate that an optimum cantilever configuration, with a wing aspect ratio of approximately 26, has a 19% improvement in cruise range when compared to a baseline concept with a wing aspect ratio of approximately 10. An optimum strut braced configuration, with a wing aspect ratio of approximately 28, has a 31% improvment in cruise range when compared to the same baseline concept. This improvement is mainly due to the estimated reduction in wing weight resulting from use of lifting struts. All configurations assume the same mission payload and fuel. The drag characteristics of the wings are enhanced with the use of laminar flow airfoils. A method for determining the extent of attainable natural laminar flow, and methods for preliminary structural design and for aerodynamic analysis of wings lifting struts are presented

One-nucleon transfer reactions and the optical potential

We provide a summary of new developments in the area of direct reaction theory with a particular focus on one-nucleon transfer reactions. We provide a status of the methods available for describing (d,p) reactions. We discuss the effects of nonlocality in the optical potential in transfer reactions. The results of a purely phenomenological potential and the optical potential obtained from the dispersive optical model are compared; both point toward the importance of including nonlocality in transfer reactions explicitly. Given the large ambiguities associated with optical potentials, we discuss some new developments toward the quantification of this uncertainty. We conclude with some general comments and a brief account of new advances that are in the pipeline.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, proceedings for the 14th International Conference on Nuclear Reaction Mechanisms, Varenna, June 201

A Chandra Survey of Quasar Jets: First Results

We present results from Chandra X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of a flux-limited sample of flat spectrum radio-emitting quasars with jet-like extended structure. Twelve of twenty quasar jets are detected in 5 ks ACIS-S exposures. The quasars without X-ray jets are not significantly different from those in the sample with detected jets except that the extended radio emission is generally fainter. New radio maps are combined with the X-ray images in order to elucidate the relation between radio and X-ray emission in spatially resolved structures. We find a variety of morphologies, including long straight jets and bends up to 90 degrees. All X-ray jets are one-sided although the radio images used for source selection often show lobes opposite the X-ray jets. The FR II X-ray jets can all be interpreted as inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons by electrons in large-scale relativistic jets although deeper observations are required to test this interpretation in detail. Applying this interpretation to the jets as a population, we find that the jets would be aligned to within 30 degrees of the line of sight generally, assuming that the bulk Lorentz factor of the jets is 10.Comment: 25 pages with 5 pages of color figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements; higher resolution jpeg images are available at http://space.mit.edu/home/jonathan/jets

Continuing a Chandra Survey of Quasar Radio Jets

We are conducting an X-ray survey of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) with extended radio structures. We summarize our results from the first stage of our survey, then we present findings from its continuation. We have discovered jet X-ray emission from 12 of our first 20 Chandra targets, establishing that strong 0.5-7.0 keV emission is a common feature of FSRQ jets. The X-ray morphology is varied, but in general closely matches the radio structure until the first sharp radio bend. In the sources with optical data as well as X-ray detections we rule out simple synchrotron models for X-ray emission, suggesting these systems may instead be dominated by inverse Compton (IC) scattering. Fitting models of IC scattering of cosmic microwave background photons suggests that these jets are aligned within a few degrees of our line of sight, with bulk Lorentz factors of a few to ten and magnetic fields a bit stronger than $10^{-5}$ G. In the weeks prior to this meeting, we have discovered two new X-ray jets at $z > 1$. One (PKS B1055+201) has a dramatic, $20''$-long jet. The other (PKS B1421-490) appears unremarkable at radio frequencies, but at higher frequencies the jet is uniquely powerful: its optically-dominated, with jet/core flux ratios of 3.7 at 1 keV and 380 at 480 nm.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures. To appear in `X-Ray and Radio Connections', ed. L.O. Sjouwerman and K.K. Dyer (published electronicly at http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/events/xraydio/). Additional material and higher resolution figures may be found at http://space.mit.edu/home/jonathan/jets

HfC(310) High Brightness Sources for Advanced Imaging Applications

The authors report on electron emission from HfC(310) operating in extended Schottky emission mode. Data are gathered from test stands as well as through operation in a commercial scanning electron microscope. Emitter end-form geometry consisted of rounded, via electrochemical etching, and truncated, via ion milling. The authors demonstrate high angular intensity operation of \u3e60 mA/sr especially for the rounded end-form emitters. Advantages include robustness of the material, which is not reliant on material supply as is the case with standard ZrO/W(100) sources. Hence, operation is available over a much larger range of temperatures, fields, and potentially pressures. Operation in a commercial scanning electron microscope gave ten times higher beam currents for identical operational parameters over a standard Schottky source

Adrenergic Modulation of Choroidal Blood Flow in the Rabbit

Purpose. To determine whether the choroidal pressure-flow relationship is altered by the aadrenergic antagonist, phentolamine, or the /?-adrenergic antagonist, propranolol. Methods. In two groups of pentobarbital-anesthetized rabbits, the choroidal pressure-flow relationships were determined by raising the intraocular pressure (IOP) at mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 50, 60, 70, and 80 mm Hg before and after phentolamine (0.5 mg/kg, intravenously, n = 7) and propranolol (0.25 mg/kg, intravenously, n = 7) administration. Hydraulic occluders on the thoracic aorta and inferior vena cava were used to control MAP, which was measured in the central ear artery. The eye was cannulated with two 23-gauge needles, one to manipulate the ocular volume and the other to measure the IOP. Choroidal Jtrevious studies' 3 in this laboratory show evidence of strong autoregulation in the posterior choroid of the rabbit. In the current study, we begin evaluating potential neurohumoral modulators of choroidal blood flow by examining the effect of a-and /?-adrenergic blockade on the choroidal pressure-flow relationship. Pharmacologic 4 " 10 and histochemical 8 " 12 studies indicate the presence of a-and possibly /^-adrenergic receptors on choroidal vessels, and direct electrical stimulation of the ocular sympathetic nerves or local infusions of catecholamines cause choroidal vasoconstriction. 4 " 10 However, the physiological role of the choroidal sympathetic nerves and the choroidal re

Australian survey of current practice and guideline use in adult cancer pain assessment and management: Perspectives of oncologists

Aims: Cancer pain continues to be undertreated in up to half of cases, despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines. This study aimed to: (i) identify barriers and facilitators to adult cancer pain assessment and management, as perceived by Australian health professionals; (ii) establish the perceived need for new Australian guidelines and implementation strategy; (iii) identify which guidelines are used; (iv) identify barriers and facilitators to guideline use. This article focuses on the perceptions of responding oncologists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered online. Invitations were circulated via peak bodies and clinical leaders. Comments were coded independently by two researchers. Results: In all 76 oncologists self-reported high concordance with evidence-based recommendations, except validated pain scales. Perceived barriers to pain management included insufficient non-pharmacological interventions, access to /coordination between services, and time. Only 22 percent of respondents reported using pain guidelines. Perceived barriers to guideline use included lack of access, awareness and any single standard. Respondents were generally supportive of new Australian guidelines and especially an implementation strategy. Conclusion: Barriers to evidence-based practice and guideline use identified by our survey might be addressed via a clinical pathway that gives step-by-step guidance on evidence-based practice along with a framework for evaluation. Particular attention should be paid to promoting use of validated scales, patient education and non-pharmacological interventions, training of an appropriately skilled workforce and improving care coordination. Challenges are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

Reply to comment by Hillis et al. (2013)

We agree that there is now convincing evidence which favours the idea that a region encompassing the British Isles is dynamically supported by convective circulation beneath the lithospheric plate. For example, the coincidence of a long wavelength (>800 km) free-air gravity anomaly with anomalously slow velocities beneath the lithospheric plate suggests that regional elevation of Northern Britain is maintained by a tongue of hot asthenosphere protruding away from Iceland (Jones et al. 2002a; Arrowsmith et al. 2005). These observations are corroborated by the crustal thickness measurements of Davis et al. (2012). The Icelandic plume initiated 62 Ma and there is excellent evidence in the Irminger and Icelandic basins that this plume has waxed and waned with different periodicities (Jones et al. 2002b; Poore et al. 2009). This transient activity has manifest itself in geochemical and earthquake records along the Reykjanes Ridge (Poore et al. 2011; Parnell-Turner et al. 2013), in the Neogene record of deep-water overflow across the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (Poore et al. 2006), and along the fringing continental margins where spectacular buried ephemeral landscapes have been encountered (Shaw-Champion et al. 2008; Rudge et al. 2008; Hartley et al. 2011). Around the British Isles, there is considerable onshore and offshore evidence favouring a history of transient and/or permanent vertical motions which may reflect Palaeogene and Neogene plume activity (White & Lovell 1997; Jones et al. 2001; Jones et al. 2002a; Al-Kindi et al. 2003; Jones & White 2003; Mackay et al. 2005). This regional pattern of epeirogeny is locally complicated by faulting and folding, which is often difficult to date with precision

Angular Broadening of Intraday Variable AGN. II. Interstellar and Intergalactic Scattering

We analyze a sample of 58 multi-wavelength, Very Long Baseline Array observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) to determine their scattering properties. Approximately 75% of the sample consists of AGN that exhibit centimeter-wavelength intraday variability (interstellar scintillation) while the other 25% do not show intraday variability. We find that interstellar scattering is measurable for most of these AGN, and the typical broadening diameter is 2 mas at 1 GHz. We find that the scintillating AGN are typically at lower Galactic latitudes than the non-scintillating AGN, consistent with the scenario that intraday variability is a propagation effect from the Galactic interstellar medium. The magnitude of the inferred interstellar broadening measured toward the scintillating AGN, when scaled to higher frequencies, is comparable to the diameters inferred from analyses of the light curves for the more well-known intraday variable sources. However, we find no difference in the amount of scattering measured toward the scintillating versus non-scintillating AGN. A consistent picture is one in which the scintillation results from localized regions ("clumps") distributed throughout the Galactic disk, but which individually make little contribution to the angular broadening. Of the 58 AGN observed, 37 (64%) have measured redshifts. At best, a marginal trend is found for scintillating (non-scintillating) AGN to have smaller (larger) angular diameters at higher redshifts. We also use our observations to try to constrain the possibility of intergalactic scattering. While broadly consistent with the scenario of a highly turbulent intergalactic medium, our observations do not place significant constraints on its properties.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; AASTeX format; ApJ in pres